11:59
by breakingatthecracks
Summary: The day the world chose to die is the day Beca found a reason to live. [Bechloe]
1. Chapter 1

**ONE**

_We can run_

_Today can last another million years  
Today could be the end of me_

_._

**Atlanta, GA  
2:03 PM**

Of course, the apocalypse happens on Beca's birthday.

It's not even funny.

_Bang!_

There goes the sound of, probably, another lamp post hitting the ground or another car hitting another. Well, of course it doesn't exactly sound like _bang_, but _bang _is the sound of everything to Beca. She's seen and heard enough on her run back to her dorm.

She's suddenly thankful for Aubrey and all the suicides she's asked Beca to do in the time she spent leading them. If it weren't for those cardio workouts, she'd be dead by now.

She runs to her room, sending the door flying open.

Honestly, she expected Kimmy Jin to be that Asian badass person you see on Korean action movies that suddenly has equipment that are designed to survive the apocalypse. But again, just like everything about her life, Kimmy Jin disappoints her by actually turning into one of the undead. Beca saw her roaming the common room downstairs, probably looking for a body to chomp on.

It will gross Beca out really but she has no time for nausea because the moment she started running out of that classroom when one of her classmates started rotting to death—or undeath, she only had one thing in mind: _where the hell is Chloe?_

Beca tries not to make anything out of that. She charges it to the fact that Chloe is her closest friend. She tries to ignore that voice in her head that asks her why didn't she think of her father first. Or Jesse.

She shakes her head as she packs as much things as she can and then runs fast.

She doesn't know why her feet make her run to the Bellas' rehearsal space but she's thankful anyway. The Bellas has always been one of Beca's best decisions—and it counts most especially today.

"Beca!" she hears a familiar voice call her name.

_Fat Amy_.

Somehow, knowing that one of her friends is still alive relieves her to no end.

"Amy?"

Fat Amy runs toward her, breathing heavily. She's holding a lamp—which almost makes Beca laugh because _really? A lamp?_

"I'm so glad to see you're alive," Fat Amy says when they're finally facing each other.

"Have you seen the others?" Beca asks, really wanting to ask about a certain redhead but she stops herself.

_Great_. The world is ending and she's still tongue tied about it all.

Fat Amy nods frantically along with her agitated breaths. "I'm on the same floor as Stacie and she went off to find the others, we're meeting here," Fat Amy says.

"Others? So, they're alive?" Beca asks nervously, adjusting the strap of her backpack.

"We don't know yet."

Silence envelopes them—as far as silence goes because outside the building are loud sounds of screaming and groaning and growling. Beca feels her heart race in anticipation. She hopes the door would just open and reveal her friends, all of them alive—probably even the Trebles. Hell, she'd take anyone she knows at this point, even the Stepmonster… _okay, maybe not_. But still.

"Do we have a plan?" Beca asks, not knowing if there's a proper answer for that.

Fat Amy cringes, "I don't know, Beca. Aubrey is the one good at planning shit."

"Can't believe the day will come I'd actually need Aubrey to survive."

"No shit," Fat Amy agrees.

For the next minute, they both just look around at the room—the empty bleachers, the abandoned piano in the middle of the room. It looks all the same except for the tight-shut windows and double-locked door. In here, it feels like they're just waiting for the others to arrive; like any minute, Aubrey would just come marching in with that annoying scowl on her face and behind her trails Chloe with that signature smile of hers that has made a lot of Beca's days better. Not that she'll ever admit that.

"Try your phone," Fat Amy tells her.

"The signal is down," she says.

"No. I tried calling Cynthia Rose before you walked in but I ran out of battery."

Beca sighs as she pulls her phone out from her pocket. She lights up the screen and sees something that almost makes her tear up.

_**9 Missed Calls from Chloe Beale**_

"Shit," she mutters to herself, hitting the _Call _button right away.

Fat Amy is right, the signal is still up. But somehow, it doesn't relieve her because Chloe is not answering her phone.

"Fat Amy, do you have any idea who Stacie went after?" Beca asks, still with one ear on the phone.

"The seniors' dorms. She went to find Aubrey and Chloe."

Beca nods unconsciously.

Now that relieves her.

She trusts Stacie.

Aside from the friendship she has formed with Chloe, the one she has formed with Stacie also has managed to surprise her in many ways. Stacie Conrad, the one who declared E!Network and cuticle care as her main hobbies, is taking on a double major in Physics and Astrophysics. So really, there's a certain badass-ness in Stacie that so many people wouldn't believe because the girl chooses to be shallow most days.

"Why are we just sitting here again?" Beca asks, now wondering why she's standing idly in this room doing nothing at all. "Shouldn't we go out there to find our friends?"

She's said the word before she could stop herself: _friends_. Yes because these are her people now. A year and a half ago, the idea of Beca having friends seemed more impossible than the apocalypse but hey, both are happening right now so it probably doesn't matter.

"It's probably best to stay here, Beca. Sometimes, the best thing to do is wait."

She ponders this. Maybe, Fat Amy is right; she hopes Fat Amy is right.

**3:00 PM**

"It's been an hour, Amy."

"I know."

"What are we gonna do?"

"Wait."

"Amy, it's not—"

A knock on the door interrupts Beca's protest. Both of their heads snap toward the direction of the door. By habit, Amy lifts her lamp up as Beca—realizing she's defenceless—stands up and grabs the chair she was sitting on.

_God, we must look so pathetic right now_.

Fat Amy walks slowly toward the door with a kind of concentration Beca has never seen in her before. Maybe, Fat Amy could survive this whole thing. She did wrestle crocodile in Tasmania, what's the worst that could happen?

The knocking comes on again and this time, Fat Amy speaks up, "Who's there?"

No one answers for a moment but then, someone from the other side replies, "Of course it's us, Amy. Why would a zombie knock before attacking you?"

_Aubrey_.

Somehow, even with the sass, hearing Aubrey's voice calms her down. She's never been so happy hearing Aubrey's voice because it means at the other side of the door, there's also Chloe. Let's face it, where there's Aubrey, there's Chloe. The vice-versa of that thought is actually horrifying but right now, both thoughts seem important.

That's why Beca practically runs to the door to throw it wide open.

And in that split second between opening it and actually seeing who's on the other side, Beca felt legitimate fear; fear not of the mass of zombies outside the building but fear of not seeing the people she wishes to see—that one person she _needs_ to see.

But soon as the door opens, she felt air literally leave her lungs. She sees a body quickly throwing itself on her, wrapping its arms around her neck. For a moment, Beca thought _this is it_.

This is where it ends.

_I'm gonna die because I got bit by a fucking zombie who mimicked Aubrey's voice._

But then she smells that familiar scent. She smells that familiar, horrible scent and for the first time since that girl in her classroom jumped and literally ate her seatmate for lunch, Beca felt like she could actually breathe.

_Chloe_.

"The Britney Spears perfume, really?" she asks soon as Chloe breaks the hug.

Then, Chloe pushes her by the shoulder.

"What the hell—"

"Why weren't you answering your phone?" Chloe asks, almost yelling at her in frustration.

"I—uh—"

_Great_.

The world is ending and Beca still can't pull herself together in front of Chloe.

"We searched for you everywhere!"

"I've been here all this time," Beca says. She tries to convince herself it doesn't have a double meaning.

"You should probably try checking your phone!" Chloe yells again and Beca has never seen her this worried and relieved at the same time.

Stacie clears her throat behind them both and that's the moment Beca realizes that almost _everyone _is here. For some weird reason, fate—the one that has never sided her before—decided to be in sync with her today. Her friends are here.

Stacie has just finished securing the door closed before she speaks up, walking past Beca and Chloe to the center of the room, "We need a plan."

Stacie is serious. She's never seen Stacie be this serious.

Three hours into the apocalypse and everyone has changed. Maybe, the apocalypse can really change people—or maybe, it reveals them.

"A plan for what?" Aubrey asks, staring at Stacie as if her life depends on it.

Stacie shrugs.

Beca chooses that time to speak up, "Get out of here, maybe?"

"Where do we go? Is there even a safe place out of here?" Aubrey asks, shots fired. Of course, it was a rhetorical question.

When the world ends, where do you go?

No one dares to make up theories. Everyone just sighs heavily. Beca looks around her. Stacie and Aubrey are tense, both wanting to do something but not knowing exactly what—or how. Lilly sits with Jessica by the piano, looking at the organ as if it can sing the world back to pieces.

Ashley, Cynthia Rose, and Fat Amy resign by the bleachers, features sagged with obvious anxiousness and fatigue.

"Wait," Beca says, holding up a hand when she realizes they're not all here. "Where the fuck is Denise?" she asks no one in particular, throwing unnecessary expletive because the answer terrifies her.

Stacie gives her a look.

Aubrey does the same.

And she gets it.

"Oh my God," Fat Amy mutters when she, too, gets it.

"Shit," Beca shudders. She then sighs, "Oh my God."

A second later and she feels a hand covering hers, stopping it from shaking. She looks at the hand now one with hers, it's Chloe's. She doesn't need to look at the person to know it's her. She just knows.

Lilly clears her throat and says, "We gotta get moving."

"To where?" Aubrey asks, always the one needing answers.

Silence.

There it is again, the silence also known as a bunch of girls wanting to survive the apocalypse. Beca could feel it, her friends are giving up. She wishes she could do something but she's probably also halfway gone as they are.

Without taking her hand away from Beca, Chloe steps forward. "Does it really matter? If we're gonna die, we might as well die fighting."

And _this_.

This is the reason why Beca is thankful for Chloe. Beca knows she's not even half the person that Chloe Beale is.

"I know where they park the swim team's bus," Fat Amy says.

Everyone looks at her.

_Are we really gonna do this?_

Beca sees Stacie nod, "Is it anywhere near?"

Fat Amy stands up nodding, her eyes glimmering with a little bit of hope.

"It's in the parking lot across the building," she says.

Stacie looks around her and Beca knows that this, this is the moment that Stacie has become their leader in their quest for survival.

Stacie takes a deep breath, "Who has shot a gun before?"

Lilly raises her hand.

_Of course_.

"Only Lilly?" Stacie asks, her face scrunches probably because of the terrifying fact that only one of her friends could actually defend herself.

With a shaky breath, Beca raises her hand.

Everyone looks at her.

"What?" she asks.

"Really, Beca?" Chloe, who still hasn't let go of her hand, asks her.

She rolls her hand, "So, no one is surprised that Lilly has shot a gun before and I get these kinds of looks?"

Everyone just looks at her, again.

"My father and I used to hunt before," she says with an eye roll.

Stacie nods, "Fine." Stacie summons everyone to gather in the middle of the room and once everyone is huddled around her, she says, "Fat Amy and I will get the bus in the parking lot. All of you will wait here, keep every window and that door shut, do you understand?"

They all nod.

Then, Stacie straightens her back and reaches for something behind. She takes a pistol out.

Aubrey is the first to react, "What the hell, Stacie? Where did you—"

"Calm your tits, Aubrey. Some people want to protect themselves."

"With two guns?" she asks again, eyeing the other gun held at Stacie's side.

Stacie only shrugs and hands the pistol to Beca.

"Wha—why me?"

They all look at Lilly and the Asian only shrugs and raises a pistol of her own.

"Really? You both own a gun?" Aubrey asks, horrified.

Stacie shakes her head, shrugging Aubrey's antics off.

"If we're not back in an hour, you're on your own," Stacie says which makes everyone suddenly worried about them. Aubrey was about to say something but Stacie gives her a look that shuts her up and then turns to Fat Amy, "Shall we?"

"Yeah, I'm ready for this!" Fat Amy exclaims, somehow excited.

Left without a choice, Aubrey seeks Stacie's eyes out and says, "Be careful."

Stacie only nods.

Beca knows something in that moment has shifted this dynamic for good. But before she can make conclusions, Stacie and Fat Amy are out of the door. Lilly and Jessica run after them to close the door.

"What do we do now?" Ashley asks.

Clasping Chloe's hand tighter, Beca says, "Now, we wait."

**4:40 PM**

"Where the hell are they?" Aubrey asks for the nth time.

By this time, they've all gone tired answering her with _they're coming_ and _don't worry, they're fine_. They all just give her a look this time. Somehow, her frantic pacing calms them down. At least, even though the world has changed for the worse, there's something about it that remains the same even if it had to be Aubrey's back-and-forth pacing of all things.

They've spent the last hour talking about where to go. Despite the countless zombie apocalypse movies and videos available out there, none of them ever really prepares you for the real thing.

The phone signal has been down for about 30 minutes now which only means it's getting worse. In a few minutes, the sun will set and they're all gonna have to face the first night of the end of the world. The thought is horrifying and comforting at the same time.

Horrifying because the growls and groans heard from afar could be scarier at night time. And comforting because with the night comes the morning. Maybe, everything will be okay tomorrow.

_Maybe_.

A knock on the door interrupts their silence.

"It's me, open up," Stacie's voice comes from the outside and Beca sees relief come across everyone's faces. She sighs in relief, too.

Aubrey is the quickest one to stand up and open the door.

Stacie, out of breath, walks in and talks fast, "Fat Amy is waiting by the bus. We're gonna make a run."

They all nod.

Beca feels Chloe's hand clutch hers tighter.

"There are about 20 undead on our way out. Grab anything that can keep them away from you, a chair or a piece of metal... whatever. Just grab anything you can."

They all nod again.

Stacie nods at Beca, "Beca, lead the way."

Beca nods, blindly tugging Chloe's hand closer to her.

"Lilly, stay in the middle and I'll stay at the back."

Aubrey protests, "But—"

But Stacie quickly brushes her off, "Everyone, stay with the group and don't, ever, look back."

That seals the deal—if someone strays, or if someone gets bitten, they will not try to become heroes for each other. The goal is to get to the bus. The goal is to drive away from here.

"Are we clear?" Stacie asks, determination lacing her voice.

"Yeah," they all say in unison.

Chloe's hand leaves hers for the first time since they got here as they all cram around the room to get something they can protect themselves with. In a matter of moments, she sees Chloe with a thin pipe in one hand, and a helmet on the other.

For the first time since the world ended, Beca chuckles, "A helmet? Really?"

"What?" Chloe says, unable to stop the smile forming on her face.

Chloe smilingly walks up to her and puts the helmet on her, "What the hell, Beale?"

Chloe laughs, "You need this, as if your head couldn't be harder than usual."

Beca shakes her head and smilingly takes the helmet off and puts it on Chloe's head, "Finders keepers."

Chloe laughs, "What is wrong with you?"

"No apocalypse can make me wear that."

"What kind of person are you?" Chloe banters.

Beca only laughs in response.

Chloe takes her hand once more, "You ready for this?"

She takes a deep breath and nods, "I really don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"You could've just said yes."

Beca smiles.

"You scared me," Chloe says. Beca turns to her and realizes that Chloe's attention is at the hem of her shirt as she fiddles it in anxiousness. "Don't do that again, okay?" she tells Beca.

"I'll try."

"That's good enough for me."

It's in the moment that Beca decides that this world has not ended yet, at least not for her. Beca realizes that she hasn't lost everything yet. And maybe, even with the world in doom, there's something good left.

Chloe is standing next to her, alive and well—and wearing a helmet that's too big for her; and Beca feels a little bit okay.

They all need Stacie to survive.

But Beca needs Chloe to live.

They make a run once everyone's ready.

And soon as they're out of the door, Beca feels Chloe tug at her hand as if her life depends on it, "Happy birthday, Becs."

Yeah.

_Happy fucking birthday_.

* * *

The idea came to me when my brother asked me which song would be perfect for a zombie apocalypse. Blondie's "11:59" came to mind thus, the title. Well, that's how it started.

Thoughts?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Never thought anyone would actually read that but thanks for the Favs, the Follows, and the Reviews. I shall continue writing then.**

* * *

**TWO  
**Everybody Wants To Rule The World

_There's a room where the light won't find you _  
_Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down _  
_When they do I'll be right behind you_

**.**

**Still Somewhere in Atlanta  
About 7PM**

The sun is already setting by the time Fat Amy stopped the bus.

They're somewhere in the outskirts of Atlanta as they drove with the goal of getting as far away from Barden as possible.

"We can't drive forever," Fat Amy says, standing up from the driver's seat to stretch her legs. "We need a plan. Come on," she says again when everyone just stares at her blankly.

No one has said anything since they made it all to the bus. Beca doesn't think any of her friends has absorbed the fact that this is happening right now. One minute, you're attending a boring class and the next minute, one of your classmates is munching on your other classmate.

Beca looks around her again. Everyone is sitting closely together in pairs. For the first time in Bellas history, the back of the bus is empty.

Stacie and Aubrey are sitting next to each other behind the driver's seat while Beca and Chloe—with their hands still joined—sit across them. On the second row are Cynthia Rose and Jessica, and Lilly and Ashley. This is what's left of them now.

"I can't believe Denise is dead," Ashley says out of nowhere, staring outside the bus as the sun sets before them.

The sun sets before them and it's beautiful.

It's ironic, Beca thinks, how something so beautiful could take place at such a horrible time. And it's unsettling how the world has ended and yet it doesn't stop spinning.

It's also strange how something as beautiful could mean the start of something scary. After the sun sets, it's gonna be dark. It means there would be eight clueless girls aimlessly wandering around in the dead of the night.

It would have been an interesting adventure; you know, if the world is actually still alive.

"I can't believe we're alive," Fat Amy says, sitting back on the driver's seat.

It makes no sense they're still alive. The thought alone is scary.

"I can't believe we found a bus," Chloe adds, forcing a smile.

They all need it. A lot of horrible things have happened in the past hour and they've passed—and run over—so many undead on their way away from Barden; the last thing they need right now is yet another one of them giving up.

"We're heading west," Stacie says.

Beca perks up on her seat. She doesn't know why but something in her gut tells her to just let Stacie handle it.

"Why?" Cynthia Rose asks.

"Why not?" Stacie deadpans.

Stacie doesn't take her stare off the road. Her eyes are cold but they're also brave.

Beca takes a deep breath—and help her God because, yeah, she's about to go spiralling downwards with this, "We need weapons."

Everyone turns to her, eyes wide with mixed expectations and determination.

Beca only shrugs.

_Please tell me they're not expecting me to explain why we need weapons._

"And food," Chloe supports her notion.

Beca sees Lilly nod, and Ashley, too.

"And alcohol," Stacie adds, a smile finally escaping her lips.

"Yup, definitely," Beca agrees because _yes_. Alcohol.

To Beca, this where the fight to survival started.

.

**Birmingham, AL**  
9:41 PM

"We're here," Fat Amy declares as she pulls into the parking lot of a hotel.

After driving around from I-20, they finally found a place to stay the night. They figured it's safer to stay at a deserted hotel than continue driving with the risk of running out of gas in the middle of nowhere.

"Stick to the plan, okay?" Stacie says, standing up from her seat. She turns to Beca, "You ready?"

"Never," Beca says, forcing a smile as she stands up.

She feels Chloe tug at her hand. Beca turns to her.

Chloe doesn't speak but the look in her eyes gives it away. Chloe is worried sick. She spent the last hour telling Beca how stupid this idea is but they don't have a choice.

"If we're not back in an hour, you're on your own," Stacie says and Beca is still yet to get used to that line.

Stacie takes her gun out.

"Beca," Chloe mutters.

"It's okay, Chlo."

"You're coming back, right?"

Something in the way Chloe's voice shakes breaks Beca to pieces.

"I don't know—"

Chloe smacks her arm.

"—ow! What the hell, Beale?"

"Tell me you're coming back."

"We will."

"Promise me."

Everyone is staring at them, also maybe hoping she'd promise them the same thing.

Beca has never been big about promises but just like always, Chloe is the exception to that rule.

"I promise."

Chloe nods as she looks away, refusing to watch Beca and Stacie leave the bus.

_The goal is to clear the area, make sure we're safe._

She plays Stacie's word in head, as if it was that easy.

Gun in one hand and flashlight on the other, Stacie and Beca step out of the bus.

The night is cold.

"You know, I've always wanted to visit _Sweet Home Alabama_," Stacie says calmly, like it was a normal night.

"Are you seriously trying to small talk right now?"

Stacie smirks, "Glad to see that even the apocalypse cannot take away Beca Mitchell's signature sarcasm."

"You're weird."

"Nah, let's just get this over with," Stacie says with finality as they head toward the building.

They're lucky that most of the undead in this part of Birmingham seem to be somewhere else. This part anyway is a remote area, the hotel being one of the many inns near Interstate 20. Beca can't help but shake her head at the thought of how I-20 looked like.

The 45 minute drive from Atlanta to Birmingham was what they all needed to see what the world has actually turned into. Cars overturned, undead people walking around thoughtlessly, blood on the streets—this is their world now.

Beca and Stacie walk toward the three-storey hotel that seems empty. They both turn off their flashlight because some of the lamp posts are still working, save for a couple that have been torn down. It almost makes Beca laugh how the few working ones are flickering.

_What a cliché._

Soon as they step inside the hotel lobby, Beca fights the urge to call out _hello_. She remembers Stacie's words: _whatever happens, do not make a sound unless absolutely necessary._

"Where do we start?" Beca asks, her voice low.

"This floor."

The main lobby is in the middle of the floor, dividing the floor into two wings. Stands in the middle is the reception and beside it is the grand spiral staircase. It would have been a decent highway stop.

"You take the right wing," Stacie orders her after a few moments and Beca only nods nervously.

She thinks about her promise to Chloe, _I should come back_.

Back inside the bus, it seems an easy promise to fulfil but right now, it's doesn't look like a walk in the park.

"You used to hunt, right?" Stacie asks, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah."

"Remember the number rule for hunting?"

"Don't drop the gun."

Stacie rolls her eyes, "Okay, the second one."

"Aim for the head."

Stacie nods.

And that's when they go their separate ways.

Beca steers to her right and counts the room. The right side has 3 rooms she has to clear out and Stacie's method for clearing out is composed of two things: one, make sure it's free of any undead (meaning you should kill it when you see one) and two, shut down all doors and windows.

She takes a deep breath and holds out the gun properly.

It's been a while since she last held an actual gun and she was holding a rifle the last time she did. Thinking about it, she really has not shot a pistol before. Lily has given her the quick tutorial and man, that girl may or may not be an actual assassin.

She walks toward the first door.

_This is it. Help me God._

She prays about ten thousand prayers as she turns the door knob and quickly pushes the door open. She steps back immediately after with her gun pointing eye-level.

Nothing.

She feels her blood flow again.

A relieved breath escapes her lungs before she steps slowly inside the room. Again, nothing. She checks the bathroom, nothing.

She then shuts all the windows closed.

Room 1, clear.

_Bang!_

She hears a gunshot.

_Stacie_.

She panics. She panics like she's never panicked before that she sprints outside the room to the hallway. She was about to see if Stacie was okay but she remembers Stacie's directions: _whatever happens, stick to the plan_.

It stops her on her tracks.

She swallows.

_Whatever happens, stick to the plan_.

"Damn it, Stacie," she mutters under her breath.

It takes all of Beca to turn on her heels and proceed to the next room. There are a couple of times she thought about running to the other side to see if Stacie is alright. They cannot lose Stacie. She's the only one in their group who seems to have an idea on what they're doing. How Stacie has become _this strong _for them? That's beyond Beca.

But every time Beca thinks about _not sticking to the plan_, she remembers how badly Stacie wanted her to stick to it. So, she does because Stacie knows what she's doing and saying.

_Probably._

Maybe, it's really one of her lucky nights because all three rooms are empty. After she's done closing all possible entry way, she heads back to the lobby to see Stacie standing by the reception, just about to open a packet of gum.

"I heard a gunshot," Beca says as she approaches Stacie. "What happened?"

"The zombie happened," Stacie says as she holds out the packet of gum to her, "Want some?"

Beca takes one and puts a piece in her mouth. Chewing, she asks, "What now?"

"The second and third floor in thirty minutes, ready?"

"Stop asking me if I'm ready. I will never be ready for this."

Stacie chuckles as she walks to the stairs and stars heading up.

"Let's do this," the taller brunette says as she holds her gun up.

"Getting bitten would have made my life so much easier," Beca says with an eye roll.

"Shut up, Beca."

Beca and Stacie spend the next thirty minutes securing the second and third floor. Again, it must be Beca's day because the floor seemed empty, save for about three zombies which were all killed by Stacie without breaking any sweat.

They head back to the bus and soon as they step in, she immediately feels Chloe engulfing her in a big hug.

"You should really stop trying to kill me after I survived clearing up a building like that," she says, trying to put a bite to it but fails miserably. Chloe's hug is one of the things that are keeping her together.

It's nice to have something familiar to come back to.

Fat Amy pulls the bus over close to the hotel entrance. They all make it inside and everyone breathes out a sigh of relief when Cynthia Rose shuts the front door closed.

"We're safe," Stacie says, her shoulders sagging in fatigue for the first time that day. "At least for now."

"What do we do now?" Jessica asks.

"We'll stay together," Stacie replies. "We'll stay in one room since we only have three guns with us. No one is going to walk out of our room without tagging either me, Beca, or Lilly along. Does everybody understand that?"

They all nod.

"I'm really hungry," Lilly states, voicing it out for everybody.

Stacie shrugs and looks at Ashley, "Ash, you might want to check out the kitchen. It will be heaven for you."

Ashley's face lights up and it makes Beca chuckle because Ashley is a culinary major and the kitchen is fully stocked. If they're lucky, they'll be having a decent meal tonight. Beca doesn't doubt it, she'd been to many of Ashley's showcases; the girl can cook the world to peace.

Okay, bad metaphor to use right now but you get the picture.

This might be the weirdest, hardest dinner they'll ever eat but they'll take anything in at this point.

"Who wants to cook with me?" Ashley asks, a tainted smile ghosting her lips. Beca knows it's Ashley's attempt to stay positive.

Cynthia Rose raises her hands and so does Aubrey.

"I'll stand in," Stacie volunteers but Lilly steps forward shaking her head.

"You and Beca have done enough for the day. Go take a rest, I'll stand in."

Stacie nods in agreement.

They go separate ways, one group heads to the kitchen and the other group heads to room closest to it.

As they reach the bedroom, Beca turns to Chloe.

"What's up with Aubrey?"

"What about her?" Chloe replies with a question as she launches herself to the bed.

"She's been silent."

"She's just shaken up."

Fat Amy sits on the edge of the same bed Chloe's currently enjoying, "She's not even supposed to be here today."

Yeah, that reminds Beca. Aubrey wasn't supposed to be in Barden today. She's supposed to be on the plane to New York to check out that business school she got into for her Master's. But Chloe had drunk way too much last night to celebrate Aubrey's achievement and Aubrey kind of did, too, so she missed the flight.

It's funny how Aubrey messes up her schedule _one time _and the world literally comes to an end.

"Maybe, she's wondering if she had been safe if she made the flight."

"That's the worst thing about it," Stacie says silently. "We'll never know."

Chloe just looks at Beca and Beca could tell she hadn't given it much thought.

"Do you think she regrets it? I mean, do you think she regrets being stuck here with us?" Beca asks no one in particular.

Chloe shakes her head. "She's just scared, Beca."

"Well, all of us are," Fat Amy says nonchalant, grabbing a pillow.

Chloe shakes her head again, "Trust me. Whatever Aubrey's being silent about, it's not regret."

No one dares to argue that.

**LATER THAT NIGHT**

It's about past midnight, when she's sitting by the hallway alone, does Beca let her mind do its thing. She's officially a year older now, her birthday being a reminder that the world will not ever go back to how it was before.

She volunteered for first watch, dodging the chance to sleep and rest. She'll never be able to convince herself to sleep anyway, so might as well be useful. She holds an ice cold bottle of Rochefort Trappistes 10 in her hand, that beer being one of the bests she's ever tasted.

So, there's one upside to the apocalypse: _underage drinking_.

Her semi-alcohol induced thoughts lead her to the one thing that had kept her going all day.

_Chloe_.

Believe her, she had tried so hard not to dwell on what it _all _means—the butterflies in her stomach when Chloe comes around, the way she lets the other girl hold her even when it's absolutely unnecessary, and the way she has long stopped trying to push Chloe away. In front of Chloe, Beca has her guard down, like she's spellbound to just let Chloe Beale be.

She also tries not to think about why Chloe's name seemed to be at the back of her mind when she broke up with Jesse during that summer. She tries not to make sense at the fact that she kissed Jesse on the day of the ICCA finals because she thought about Chloe graduating. She thought about the competition being her last chance to be around Chloe, she thought about it coming to an end. She tries not to think how much of a bitch she is for using Jesse to fill up that space.

Jesse was a good guy. He would have been the perfect boyfriend for Beca—or for anyone, really. But he isn't the one who knows how Beca wants her coffee in the morning. He isn't the one who knows where Beca hides when she's feeling a bit down. All of those things _are _Chloe.

And Beca tries not to let her heart break at that.

"Hey," a voice interrupts her thoughts.

She looks up and _yes_, like all the movies tell us—the one who will interrupt your thoughts in the dead of the night is the one you have been thinking about. It's like the legend of Bloody Mary, of course, only a bit prettier.

_A bit_.

"They're playing spin the bottle again," Chloe tells her.

"Please tell me they still all have their clothes on."

Chloe chuckles, "They stopped playing strip poker when Fat Amy started losing the game on purpose."

Beca laughs an actual laugh. It feels weirdly right.

Chloe has also volunteered for first watch, claiming she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway knowing Beca is sitting outside their door.

And that's the thing that terrifies Beca the most—Chloe cares about her; and Beca seems to have the talent to destroy anyone that ever cared about her.

It's an excuse.

But to Beca, it's not a petty one.

"How many have you had?" Chloe asks her, eyeing the beer bottle on her hand as she sits on the floor next to Beca.

"Three."

Chloe then takes the bottle from her hand.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Enough of this."

"That's unfair, Beale!"

"We're first watch Beca, I need you to be able to aim properly at anyone—or anything—that attacks us. I'm not good with guns," Chloe says, raising the golf club she took from one of the rooms; they guessed it must have been owned by one of the guests. She and Jessica went out to find melee weapons after dinner and got herself a golf club; Jessica got a fireplace poker.

"I can aim."

"Right."

"Why'd you leave the party?" Beca asks, referring to everyone's activities inside.

They all wanted to sleep and rest but after a few minutes, everyone gave up trying. When Fat Amy and Cynthia Rose decided to play with the cards they found on one of the rooms, everyone joined in. And what started out as a simple card game turned into an actual end-of-the-world party when Lilly discovered the fully stocked bar by the dining area.

Good thing the generator still keeps all things going.

Beca knows the party is just her friends' way of coping so she doesn't say anything. Besides, she finds their noise comforting.

And that's saying something.

"I wanted to stay here with you."

"Why?"

"I feel safer here."

It's not much; hell, it's the most Beca is ever willing to take from anyone but she believes Chloe. She takes her words for what they are.

They stay silent for a while, just listening to Fat Amy sing and _murder _yet another one of Aubrey's favorite songs.

"Aren't you scared, Beca?" Chloe asks out of nowhere, both of them just stares at the dirty white wall that stands across them.

Beca takes a deep breath.

"Aren't you scared that we decided to make this run just to find out there's nothing to run to?"

"Of course, it's scary but there are things a lot scarier than that."

"Like?"

_Losing you_, Beca thinks.

"Losing hope," she says instead. "And having not enough alcohol."

Beca chuckles, "I was waiting for the classic Beca one-liner."

Beca chuckles at it, too. After a beat, she asks, "What if there's nothing out there, Chloe?" Beca never thought she'd be this much of a sap but this is Chloe she's talking to and for some reason, Beca knows this side of her is safe with her.

Chloe takes Beca's hand for the millionth time since the world ended. She clasps it, tight, as if she's sending her a message. "At least we get to be in _nothing _together."

"Yeah?"

"I find comfort in that."

Beca closes her eyes as she feels Chloe shift beside her. The other girl adjusts so she can put her head on Beca's shoulder. After a few moments, Chloe chugs at the beer bottle Beca previously owned.

"That's my beer by the way."

"I'm finishing it for you. That's illegal," Chloe says and then laughs at her own joke.

It makes Beca laughs, too.

Tomorrow, err later since it's already past midnight, they'll head off finding weapons, food, fuel, and what other things Stacie thinks they need to survive. They'll find themselves in a new city.

And maybe, Beca is right. Maybe, the world will never be the same after this and for some reason—for some weird reason, that thought makes Beca feel a little better.

Maybe, it's not gonna be so bad.

* * *

Chapter title is "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", been listening to the Lorde cover.

Reviews?


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: To everyone who're reading this, thank you so much. For the Favs, Follows, and Reviews, thank you. I apologize for the delay in updates. It takes a lot for me to be satisfied by everything I've written so, I would keep on rewriting and editing until I have nothing to rewrite and edit anymore. Heh.**

**Any, here's your new chapter. It's not gonna be an easy one. I may or may not have teared up writing this.**

**WARNING: (1) Long chapter (2) graphic descriptions of undead**

* * *

**THREE**  
Find You

_And if you lose yourself  
I will find you_

.

The whole thing quickly becomes exactly how a zombie apocalypse survival movie would look like.

"Day 22, 9 Survivors," Stacie reports, recording it into this high-end voice recording gadget they got when they went out to get supplies the very next day after they got settled in the hotel. "We're still here at Birmingham, Alabama, three weeks and a day into the apocalypse. We need rescue. Roger."

At first, listening to Stacie feels like a little off. One reason is because none of them knows how to build a device that could get them into the airwaves and second, everytime she mentions the word _apocalypse_, she still hesitates, like her body still refuses to believe it.

What horrifies Beca the most is the day and survivor count at the start of her daily report. It's a reminder that they've already lost Denise and there's a huge chance they could lose another one.

Beca listens to Stacie everyday though, because Stacie records and records a report, hoping that one day soon, Jessica will finally build the radio she's been trying to build for half a month now. It doesn't seem like it's gonna happen soon but Stacie just keeps going. And maybe that's the reason they're all still going, too.

They stayed three more weeks in Birmingham and today's their last day.

They spent the past few weeks, going around town getting everything they need for their long journey ahead: food, clothes, water, fuel, alcohol, weapons, ammunition, and three sessions of How to Shoot a Pistol 101 by Lilly Onakuramara.

"How long is this gonna take?" Stacie asks Jessica who's sitting behind a huge desk tinkering on different computer-related stuff.

Yes, indeed. Jessica is their IT girl. The always happy and always jolly Jessica is a master in computers and anything technical. For example, she has found a way to put alarm on all the entry points in the hotel by attaching them to pipe bombs. In three weeks, Jessica had gone through major character shift.

From the girl who wore floral dresses all the time, the Jessica that closely works with Stacie now is wearing thick-framed glasses, her everyday outfits mostly composed of t-shirts and oversized zip-up jackets. She's still talkative as hell and she still has the funniest laugh but everything just turns to Weirdville when she starts talking about transmission and data manipulation.

"I don't know, Stacie," Jessica replies, briefly looking up at Stacie before turning back to that weird satellite plate she's been trying to figure out for three weeks now. "This is not my field of expertise. I'm still getting headaches from all the graduate-level Electrochemistry formulas I've been studying."

Beca watches the exchange from her place on the other side of the desk. Somehow, she has found comfort in the sound of Jessica's frustrated sighs everytime her transmitter and receiver won't work. It's comforting not because she's failing. It's comforting because Jessica just keeps on trying.

Their goal is to make their radio satellite dish work. If there's rescue out there somewhere, they need to get its attention.

Their momentary silence is cut short by the beep on Beca's radio—because yes, they have personal CB radios.

Another upside to the apocalypse: _unlimited CB radios from that store that sells Walkie Talkies_.

"We need a hand here, Beca Mitchell," Chloe's voice comes in.

Distracted, both Jessica and Stacie turn to her.

Beca rolls her eyes before she takes the radio clipped by the left side of her chest, "I'm helping out Jessica here."

Jessica takes her radio from the top of the table and talks, "No. She's not."

Beca glares at her.

"Beca!" Chloe calls her out, her voice demanding.

"I'm coming. Jesus Christ, Beale," Beca says into the radio before hopping off her seat. She glares at Jessica one more time before turning to Stacie and whines, "I don't wanna help them, take me out of it."

Stacie takes out her radio out and presses the talk button, "Chloe, she's slacking."

Beca's eyes widen, "The fuck—"

"Rebecca Mitchell!" comes in again.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" she says quickly into the radio.

She walks toward the door and turns to the duo one more time, "You're both gonna pay for this."

Stacie rolls her eyes, "Just go Beca or Chloe will come in here and drag you out."

Yeah, it sounds totally unnecessary and a bit overdramatic but Chloe does that. Aside from being the team's resident doctor (she was gonna go to Barden Medical School before the world became this untreatable mess of a planet), she's also their resident motivator; their human GPS.

Beca could swear the girl attached trackers on everyone while they were all sleeping because that woman _always_ knows where they are or how long have they been out.

She's their keeper and a good one that is, because she's up to the point where she knows when someone is out to use the bathroom.

Beca walks the hallway toward the lobby where everyone is lifting boxes of various things to the bus. They're set to leave that day, ending their 22-day stay in this hotel. Beca can only be happy because the beds suck.

"Could you help me out with the boxes from the kitchen?" Chloe asks her with a smile.

"You realize you were yelling at me on the radio, right?"

Chloe chuckles, "Yes but I was just trying to get you to come here because you're not any help to Jess and Stacie."

"Thank you for nicely insinuating that I know nothing about computers."

Chloe laughs as she lifts the final box from the bottom of the stairs and hands it to Cynthia Rose who was just approaching them.

"Can we pack up the Radio Room now?" Cynthia asks Beca, adjusting the box in her hands.

Beca shrugs, "Jess started on something hours ago but she yelled profanities at me about 30 minutes ago. So I assume that's it for the day."

"Stacie's there with her?"

Beca nods.

Cynthia nods back in return as she walks toward the exit where Lilly was waiting, ready to escort her to the bus.

Somehow, even without directly holding a meeting about it, they have made a system: (1) buddy system, no one goes anywhere alone (2) for fuel runs, Fat Amy should be with either Lilly or Stacie (3) everyone carries a pistol with them even if they prefer to use another object as their main defense; and (4) different pairs would stand in during the nights.

It's not much but it has worked for them. And also, Twinkies are just as necessary as alcohol.

All of a sudden, Chloe steps closer to her, putting her arms around Beca's neck and on instinct, she responds by putting her hands on the redhead's waist.

What started with frequent handholding and longing gazes has turned into hugs and _this _and cuddling at night. Somehow, everyone around them got used to it and besides, it's not like they could do anything about it.

Stacie would somehow tease her about it but she doesn't ask what it means. Beca can only be thankful that she doesn't because she wouldn't have an answer.

Chloe Beale hugs and cuddles anyone she wants to but most days, it's Beca. And Beca has long stopped asking herself why.

"What now, Beale?" she asks, trying to keep her voice steady despite the fact that she's having a case of butterflies in her stomach. The butterflies never go away and they go even wilder when Chloe is this close.

And Beca has long stopped trying to convince herself it doesn't mean anything.

"Help me out with the stuff in the kitchen?"

Is it necessary to be this _close _when asking for such favor? No, but Beca also has long stopped complaining.

"Do I have a choice?"

Chloe giggles before she pulls herself off Beca. "Nope," she says as she heads toward the kitchen.

Beca just smiles, unconsciously affectionate, as she follows Chloe.

Yeah, when Chloe does that, it leaves Beca without much of a choice.

.

**Meridian, MS  
**23rd Day, 4 AM

"Are you sure you're okay, Amy?" Beca asks Amy, whispering under her breath because everyone is still sleeping.

"Yeah, could you just wake Stacie up? I don't know where we're stopping now."

The drive from Birmingham to Meridian should have just taken two hours but because of the many stops they had and the parts of I-60 they had to avoid due to the overwhelming number of undead, it took them more than half a day.

"Find any neighborhood," Stacie says in a sleepy manner.

God, it's so easy to wake her. It's like her body has an alarm that goes off when somebody mentions her name.

Looking up from the book she's reading—a book about the towns of Mississippi—Chloe says, "This book literally has nothing about Meridian."

"Not helping," Stacie comments, adjusting herself to a more comfortable position without stirring Aubrey awake. Aubrey's head is on Stacie's shoulder and Beca realizes that it's another one of the many things no one asks about—somehow, Stacie has taken Aubrey under her wings.

Beca is curious and Chloe is only thankful that Stacie is taking good care of her but other than that, no one really asks. Beca has a gut feeling that there's something more to it but she doesn't ask.

_Do not do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you._

Stacie and Beca have developed a weird dynamic that others would easily call _friendship_. They have somehow taken the lead in this whole thing primarily because Aubrey Posen is still as lifeless as she was the first day. Becoming allies has made Stacie and Beca closer, even sharing some serious heart talks when they would stay the night with Jessica at the Radio Room. To some extent, Jessica is part of that dynamic, although most days the girl would just laugh. But Jessica listens and Beca appreciates that.

Chloe just smiles patiently, "But I've read that there a lot of mansions here. Jackson, Columbus, and Hattiesburg are all known for large infrastructures like buildings and houses. I'm sure if we find a neighborhood, we'd find a house to crash."

That's also another one of Chloe's roles in the team. Aside from being their human GPS, she's also their Google Maps; somewhat Internet, too because the girl is brainy, even brainer than Beca ever knows.

When they went out to get supplies, Chloe insisted on getting as many North America travel books as possible. Nobody understood why but it all made sense when Stacie started mapping out their direction. She got one of those huge teacher-material North America maps and splayed it out on the hotel wall, marking their possible stops with a red sharpie. Chloe and Stacie had an all-nighter discussing which stops were most suitable for them, all because of the books she got.

Beca knows Chloe is enjoying reading all those books. Hell, she even enjoyed all the Almanac Chloe got her.

"I think we should find a place now, my eyes are really tired from driving without the headlights on."

"Do you want to switch?" Stacie offers, now fully awake.

"Nah," Fat Amy shakes her head. "Let's just get this over with."

**HALF AN HOUR LATER**

Fat Amy pulls over in front of a beautiful two-storey house with a craftsman cottage design. Its front porch has a swing and a couple of overturned outdoor chairs and a table, its lawn looks like it was once well-taken care of, and there are signs that there were once flowers here. Even in the dark, the house looks stunning.

Okay, for the record, Beca appreciates building and house designs. Her mom was an architect and she grew up looking at her mom's dream home.

If Beca would be honest, it would look like this.

There are little signs of damage in the house and only if the doors and windows were shut, Beca would assume the family who lived here is still alive. There's an ache inside Beca's heart upon thinking about it. This place was once a family's home. They probably had children. Maybe, they had a dog, too.

Beca's thoughts are interrupted when Stacie speaks up, talking to everyone in the bus. "Hey, ladies, wake up," she calls, voice still raspy from her sleep.

Everyone perks up on their seat, albeit in a sleepy manner.

"Lilly and I are going in. Watch your backs while we you also watch ours," the tall brunette whose leather jacket fits her well says, swinging her rifle from her back.

They did get a good amount of guns from that old weapons shop in Birmingham. They got enough pistols, rifles, and ammunition to go with it. The trick is to learn how to shoot. It's just frustrating sometimes because some of them refuse to learn to actually shoot sharply. Chloe, for example, settles for the axe she found in the emergency section of Walmart, not to mention she still has her golf club with her.

"I'm coming with you!" Ashley volunteers from the second row of seats.

Stacie only looks at her.

"It'll make clearing the house faster," Ashley states.

Stacie sighs and nods. Beca could see the hesitance in her but she still lets her.

"Shut the door once we're out," Stacie tells Fat Amy before turning to Beca.

Stacie only gives her a look and a nod of recognition.

It's funny because it's only been 23 days since she actually became friends with Stacie but she already knew what that look and nod means. It's the reason why she and Stacie work as a team. They need no words, just a mutual understanding of the goal they need to achieve next.

"If we're not back in an hour, you're on your own."

Stacie, Lilly, and Ashley disappear into the house soon after that. Everyone left in the bus stand by their assigned positions. Fat Amy and Aubrey guard the front of the bus while Chloe and Beca guard the left side, as Cynthia Rose and Jessica stay on the right.

Usually, the waiting is what sucks the most.

Beca can still remember that one time Chloe went out with Fat Amy and Lilly for a generator fuel run insisting she needs to stop by that torn down music store because she saw a vinyl record of David Bowie's first album. Beca held her pride that time and decided to stay by the hotel and watch Jessica work.

She spent most of that time just ranting to Jessica about how unnecessary it is to go out there in the middle of an infected area just to get a David Bowie vinyl. Okay, sure, maybe it is a little bit worth it but still. Jessica just smiles at her and plays a David Bowie song from Beca's laptop which only infuriated the brunette.

Beca still remembers how she practically ran to the door when she heard the bus come back just to make sure that Chloe is back in one piece.

It still makes Beca smile how happy Chloe's was when she showed her all the vinyl records she got; and Beca can still recall how hard she laughed when Fat Amy came in with a vinyl player. Fat Amy is everyone's partner in crime.

Twenty minutes pass without a sign of the trio that walked inside the house. Beca is already starting to grow anxious and it probably showed because Chloe is by her side in a second.

"Hey," Chloe mutters, her voice soft as she traces random patterns on Beca's arm as if trying to ease her. "Hearing no gunshot is a good sign," she reminds her.

Beca nods but she's not convinced. Something in her gut feels wrong.

She takes a deep breath as she looks around outside the bus anxiously. Doing so, she catches a sight of Aubrey who's standing by the door looking at the house through the glass. Her fingers are tapping on her rifle, her foot stomping lightly on the steel floor of the bus.

Beca could tell Aubrey feels it, too.

"I'm going in," Beca says, causing everyone to look at her. She meets eyes with Aubrey and Beca just further confirms that Aubrey feels something wrong, too.

"I think I saw something upstairs through the windows," Aubrey says, the longest sentence she'd said to anyone in 23 days.

Fat Amy is about to grab her radio when Beca stops her, "No. It'll alert the other occupants of the house. It's dangerous."

There's a flash of fear in Aubrey's eyes as Beca feels Chloe take her hand again.

It has become Chloe's nervous habit and it has somehow become Beca's safe refuge.

_Bang!_

They hear a gunshot and almost everyone jumps in surprise.

"Shit," Beca mutters under her breath.

Her first instinct is to look around to see if the gunshot alerted any other undead. So far, none.

For a moment there, Beca learns how to breathe again.

"Stay on your positions," Beca commands as everyone, as if in remote control, heads back to their respective places.

_Bang!_

Another shot from inside the house.

"I gotta go," Beca decides, standing up from her place in the second row.

"No!" Chloe cries from the back of the bus.

The redhead is about to make a move when Beca sees one undead running aggressively from the left side of the street. It's headed toward the bus.

"Chloe!" Beca alerts her.

By reflex, Chloe pushes up the bus window and takes her pistol out. She then fires two shots into his head. The zombie's whole body fidgets to the ground as Chloe shuts the window with a loud thump.

"You're not going in here, Beca!"

_Bang!_

"I need to," Beca says as she sprints to the console and opens the door.

"Beca!" a teary-eyed Chloe calls her again.

"I'll be back, I promise."

Beca doesn't look back as she runs from the bus to the house. Stacie always told her to trust her guts and right now, her guts are telling her to run inside. Beca holds her rifle up the moment she steps inside.

The first floor seems clear. All entry points are shut tight, three zombies are laying double-dead by the hallway—one with a gunshot between the eyes, the other two are headless. Beca instantly thinks about Lilly and how good she is with the _katana_. It's not even an Asian cliché. The girl simply has a fascination with sharp objects.

Beca's next move is to move to the second floor. As she ascends the stairs, she hears voices talking by the hallway. It gives her a sense of relief because she recognizes Stacie's voice.

But that sense of relief quickly goes away when the sight unfolds in front of her.

"Just shoot me, Stacie."

Beca hears it. The voice is shaky and it sounds like Ashley. Beca could barely see in the dark. The only light they have is the rechargeable lamp strategically placed in the middle of the floor, just to serve as their guide in the dark. They're mostly relying on small handy flashlights and soon as Beca turns hers on, the voice she heard completely made sense.

"Holy shit," Beca mutters under her breath.

Standing in front of her is Ashley, tears streaming down from her face to her blood-stained clothes. Beca's tears immediately tear up, her stomach suddenly feels like it's turning upside down. On Ashley's neck is an open wound, a large one; and laying on floor beside her is a zombie with its head barely attached to its body.

Beside Beca is Stacie, her gun drawn up pointing toward Ashley. Her hands are shaking and her tears are falling. Beca then sees Lilly behind Ashley, sword drawn up defensively toward Ashley, her shoulders shaking from all the crying.

"Just shoot me," Ashley pleads.

Stacie shakes her head, prolonging the agony. "Chloe could find a solution," Stacie manages despite her shaky voice.

"I don't wanna hurt anyone," Ashley pleads again, as she goes down on both her knees. "Just do it, Stacie."

"No."

Ashley looks up and meets Beca's eyes. "Beca," Ashley calls out, her voice breaking in pain and defeat. "Please."

Beca takes in a deep breath.

"Ash, we'll get you an antidote," Beca tells her. Even Beca is unsure of it but hell, she wishes it were true.

"No, we won't."

Nobody says anything for a moment. Silence occurs among them.

"It hurts," Ashley cries as she pulls her hand to her wound. "Just stop the pain now."

Beca is crying by now.

Sure they have killed dozens of zombies before. They've killed so many zombies from their grocery trips to their practice shootings but none of it can ever prepare them for this.

"I kept a list of my recipes on Beca's laptop. I—"

"Ash, no," Beca interrupts her. "You told me you're gonna cook one hell of a Turkey on Thanksgiving."

Ashley, even with a wound bad enough to kill a person, manages a hearty laugh. "Do you think there would be any turkeys left out there?"

"I don't know."

Ashley turns to Stacie, "It hurts so much Stace, stop it."

Stacie is sobbing now.

"I can't."

Ashley then stands from her kneeling position and walks toward Beca. It doesn't make Beca step back. She's scared, sure, but she's looking at Ashley's eyes and she still sees _her friend_, her friend who is in deep pain.

Beca bites the insides of her cheeks, trying to keep her feelings at bay.

Once close enough, Ashley takes Beca's hand that was holding the gun and draws it up so that the gun is point at her head.

"Ashley, no..." Beca mutters weakly.

"Yes, Beca. You have to do it."

Ashley takes Beca's other hand and puts it together with the other. Both of Beca's hands are on the gun now, pointing it to Ashley's head.

Beca swallows as she tries not to think that Ashley's blood are on her hands now.

"You can handle this, Beca."

Beca takes a deep breath as she meets Ashley's eyes. "Tell Fat Amy I hid her Skittles with the rest of the canned goods in box number 19."

_Fuck_.

"Close your eyes, all of you," Ashley commands, faking a strong tone.

For some reason, Beca does. She doesn't know if Stacie and Lilly did the same but she did. "I'm starting to turn Beca, do it."

"Ashley—"

"She loves you," Ashley whispers weakly and before Beca could clarify what she was talking about, they all hear a gunshot.

_Bang!_

Before she knows it, Ashley's hands are slipping from her own. A loud thump comes immediately after and once she opens her eyes, she sees Ashley's body right in front of her. Ashley's head is bleeding from the left side and Beca immediately turns to the said direction.

And there Aubrey stands with her rifle drawn up, her face stoic. She has tears in her eyes but her face is emotionless. Beca has never seen Aubrey as dark and cold as she is in that moment.

For a moment, it scares Beca because she sees something leave Aubrey's eyes. Whatever was left of the Aubrey they know, it left the moment she killed Ashley. Suddenly, Beca feels more scared for Aubrey now than she was for Ashley a few moments back.

With Ashley, she never saw her friend leave her body. Ashley died as Ashley.

But Aubrey is turning into someone else.

Before Beca could fully comprehend what is happening, she feels a pair of arms engulf her in a hug. She doesn't need to look or verify who it is. She knows it's Chloe. She knows this hug too well to not recognize it.

She wraps her arms around Chloe before she lets herself cry freely. Chloe is crying, too. Her shoulders are shaking and Beca could feel her breathing heavily. It's calming and at the same time heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking because it's a hug of grief. It's a hug you share with someone when you've lost someone else, a friend, a loved one.

Aubrey storms out and Stacie is quick to follow her.

Beca sees Lilly walk over to Ashley's corpse. The Asian kneels next to the body and puts her hand over Ashley's eyes. Her eyes are still open and Beca realizes that her eyes are dark green. Lilly gently closes Ashley's eyes before she starts to sob.

Beca makes the report in her head.

_Day 23, 8 survivors._

.

The next few hours go by quietly.

Beca and Chloe volunteer on helping Jessica secure all entry points with alarms and pipe bombs. Fat Amy and Cynthia Rose join efforts in digging up a grave in the backyard to have a place for Ashley and the four other now-dead undead.

Lilly takes it upon herself to drag all the body down to the backyard and cleanup the blood on the hallways while Stacie and Aubrey volunteer to clear the perimeter, bringing their silenced guns with them.

Everyone is coping the way they can manage considering the circumstances.

By noon, everybody stands by the side of Ashley's grave staring at a wooden makeshift gravestone with words written in black sharpie:

_Ashley Hamilton  
Literally been here the whole time_

"You're gonna be there for a long time, my friend," Cynthia Rose cracks a joke, a bittersweet smile escaping her lips.

It earns a teary chuckle from everyone.

Somehow, they have started accepting the cold, harsh truth. It's not easy but they all owe it to Ashley to show up here.

They sing her an a capella version of Sixpence None the Richer's "Don't Dream It's Over" because it's always been her go to warm-up song.

Halfway through the song, Beca takes Chloe's hand in hers. She clasps it tight and the moment Chloe clasps her hand back, Beca's tears fall once more.

She cries because Ashley is gone and she cries because most of them are still here.

She cries because Chloe is still here. It's scary how she cannot see herself moving past all of this without Chloe. If she's gonna survive, she's gonna survive with Chloe.

_She loves you_.

Beca keeps repeating it in her head—Ashley's last words. She thinks she knows what her late friend was talking about so she closes her eyes and thanks God for Ashley. They may have never been that close but they were friends.

And even up until her last breath, Ashley was her friend—giving her a piece of her mind, trying to help Beca see what's been in front of her all this time.

It's weird how the world works. Fate throws people into your path without ever telling you why until it's too late for you to acknowledge their existence at all.

Beca thanks Ashley anyway.

_She loves you_, she repeats in her again as she stares at Chloe who's trying hard to fight her tears while singing the song.

Beca looks at Ashley's grave and smiles.

Up until that moment, Ashley was her friend.

_When the world comes in  
They come, they come  
To build a wall between us  
Don't ever let them win_

* * *

Chapter title is from Zedd's track of the same title from the 'Divergent' soundtrack.

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